Race #164 - Myrtle Beach Half Marathon - Myrtle Beach, SC - 02/18/12

For the second year in a row the weather was just about perfect for the Myrtle Beach Marathon, Half Marathon, and 5k. Last year was my first year to run the half although I was also there the previous year (2010) on that notoriously cold and wintry weekend when the race was canceled because of a freak snowstorm. This year though, just like last year, it was a little chilly at the start and by the time the race ended the temperature was up around 60 degrees and before the day was over we were able to enjoy a couple hours at the beach before heading home Saturday afternoon.

I didn't have any huge aspirations for this race since lately I haven't been running quite as well as I did last fall. With last year's time of 1:34:19 I ended up in 4th place in the 55-59 age group and I thought it would be great to finish in the top 3 in the age group this year but in a race this size that draws a lot of top runners from all over I knew that wouldn't be easy or likely. I figured that I'd be okay with a time of under 1:38. Anything more than that and I'm really out of shape or, even worse, it might be the result of an injury along the way.

As always, I took off faster than conventional wisdom would dictate, hitting the 1-mile mark at 6:32 including the 4-5 seconds it took to cross the starting line at the beginning. Butch Holt told me after the race that he saw me go by him in the crowd and figured he'd just let me go ahead and catch up with me 7 or 8 miles into the race, which I complied with perfectly. As he passed me in the 7th mile he asked if I was ready to do it again, alluding to our recent close finishes. I kind of laughed and knew he had more gas than I did on this particular day, and he slowly drifted off ahead. I looked at the heart rate display on my Garmin and I was still at around 170 beats per minute, where I had been since about the second mile. That's pretty much the upper limit for me. My legs felt like they might go a little faster, but if I crank my heart rate up much past 170 it's not long until I'm in oxygen debt, so with five or six miles left to run I knew I needed to reserve some energy for those last miles.

I actually felt pretty good despite being passed by what seemed like way too many runners, who I knew were running a much more even pace than I was. In the end it worked out fine. My finishing time of 1:33:48 was about a half minute faster than last year. It wasn't a PR for me but was one of my better half marathon times so I was happy with it. I was a little disappointed that I didn't finish in the top 3 in the age group. Actually, I wasn't even close as the top 3 runners in the 55-59 division all finished in under 1:30, with top finisher Dave Forrest, 59, of Charlotte running an amazing 1:25:09. Even Butch Holt's speedy finish of 1:31:21, which was a 55+ PR for him, wasn't enough for a top 3 finish in the 60-64 age group. Of all the old speedsters in attendance, the most impressive had to be 70-year-old Richard Stotlar, who finished the half marathon with a phenomenal time of 1:29:37, which according to the South Carolina records listed on Running.net beat the half marathon record for the 70-75 age group by more than 10 minutes and was over 5 minutes faster than the SC state record for the 65-69 age group!

But enough about the really fast guys. Getting back to me, about a day and a half after the race the official results are finally online. I finished 6th of 102 runners in the 55-59 age group. Maybe one of these days I'll crack the top 3 in my age group at Myrtle Beach but I'm mostly just happy to be somewhere in the mix.

Click Here for Official Race Results from Active.com

My Stats:

Time:  1:33:48 (chip time)
Pace:  7:09
Age Group:  6 of 102
Overall:   156 of  3,565





**************************************
* RACE RATING  (100 Possible Points) *
**************************************

Note: With my new rating system (started in December 2011) there's not a chance of any race scoring near 100. If it's important to you, look at each individual category to see how points were earned (or not). Just trying to be more objective with the details. I generally like all of the races I run. If there's something that really rubs me the wrong way I'll mention it in the summary above.

RACE COURSE  (20 possible points)
3 - Chip Timing: (3 points if yes)
2 - Starting Mat: (2 points if yes)
2 - Water Stops: (at least 1 for 5k, 2 for 10k, 4 for half marathon) (2 points)
1 - Course Marking:  (0)bad  (1)good
1 - Course Scenery:  (0)bad  (1)good
2 - Mile Markers: (0)poor or none  (1)normal  (2)with clocks or time called out
2 - Volunteers:  (0)too few  (2)good
2 - Finish line: (0)mediocre  (2)pretty good to excellent
2 - Certified Course: (0)no  (2) yes
2 - Correct Distance: (0)no  (2)yes
1 - Partly or fully on unpaved roads:  (0)yes  (1)no

REGISTRATION  (6 possible points)
0 - Cost:  (0)expensive  (1)reasonable  (3)cheap!
0 - Race Day Registration:  (0)no  (3)yes

RESULTS  (3 possible points)
0 - Posted promptly online:  (0)no  (2)yes
1 - Clear link on website:  (0)no  (1)yes

AGE GROUPS  (13 possible points)
2 - 3 deep awards: (2)yes (0 for anything less)
2 - 5-year age groups (5 points) (0 for anything less)
1 - 14 and under group (1)
1 - 65+ group (1)
1 - 70+ group (1)
1 - Top Overall M/F:  (0)none or first only  (1)top 3 or better
1 - Masters Category(40+): (0)no  (1)yes
0 - Grand Masters Category (50+):  (0)no  (1)yes

AWARDS  (9 possible points)
1 - Overall Winner Awards: (0)none  (1)yes  (2)excellent
1 - Age Group Awards: (0)none  (1)yes  (2)excellent
0 - Door Prizes or Drawing: (0)no  (2)yes
3 - Finisher Medals for All Finishers: (0)no  (1)yes  (3)really cool medals

POST RACE  (7 possible points)
5 - Food for Race Participants: (0)none  (1)some  (2)adequate  (5)a feast!
1 - Entertainment:  (0)no  (1)yes
0 - Finisher times posted after race:  (0)no  (1)yes

REST ROOMS  (4 possible points)
2 - Porta Potties:  (0)no  (1)limited, long lines  (2)plentiful
2 - Indoor Restrooms: (0)no  (1)limited, long lines  (2)plentiful

T-SHIRTS  (8 possible points)
2 - T-Shirts: (0)no  (2)yes
2 - Design: (0)not good  (1)not bad  (2)nice
2 - Material: (0)cotton  (2)technical fabric
0 - Discount for no-shirt option:  (0)no (2)yes

PHOTOGRAPHY  (12 possible points)
5 - Professional Photography: (0)no  (5)yes
0 - Prices: (0)expensive  (2)reasonable  (5)cheap!
0 - Free Photographs (newspaper, etc.):  (0)no  (2)yes

PARKING  (8 possible points)
2 - Close to Start:  (2)yes  (0)no
0 - Close to Finish:  (2)yes  (0)no
2 - Plenty of spaces:  (2)yes  (0)no
2 - Free Parking:  (2)yes  (0)no

WEBSITE  (5 possible points)
2 - Dedicated race website (0)no  (2)yes
0 - No dedicated site but separate page on other site (organization, running store, etc):  (0)no  (1)yes
2 - Results or link to results posted on website:  (0)no  (2)yes

OTHER  (5 possible points)
0 - Shelter from Inclement Weather (needed or not): (0)no  (2)yes
2 - Swag (free socks, water bottles, etc.): (0)no  (1)yes, some  (2)excellent
1 - Part of race series or Grand Prix:  (0)no  (1)yes


TOTAL:  69

Race #163 - Cupid's Cup 5k - Charlotte, NC - 02/11/12

With the big half marathon in Myrtle Beach next week, I considered just taking this entire weekend off to rest up a little, but Friday night as I trudged along on the treadmill for just an easy mile to keep my streak going (now 247 straight days of running) I thought about how lucky I am to be able to run at all since so many people my age aren't able to, and as soon as I completed my obligatory mile I hopped off the treadmill and told Linda she could sleep in and I would go over and run the Cupid's Cup by myself. She was all for sleeping in and since we have another 5k scheduled for Sunday afternoon she didn't feel too guilty about it.

It's always fun to run the major races in Charlotte because so many running friends show up, and this is one of the best cold-weather races of the year. The big cold front was due to come in on Saturday afternoon so despite being pretty cold, it wasn't nearly as cold as I was afraid it would be, and just like last year there were quite a few patio heaters in the parking garage where the race festivities were held so it was fairly pleasant both before and after the race.

Last year this was my second fastest 5k of the year with only the notoriously downhill (and possibly short) Santa Scramble being the fastest. I did manage to win my age group this year with a time of 20:31 but that's 19 seconds slower than last year, which no doubt is a result of my diet since about Thanksgiving. I've gained about 5 pounds since then after having dropped 10 pounds and running my best times ever last fall. For some reason I haven't been able to get back on track with the good eating habits yet. Hopefully I can make some progress this week with the huge race coming up next week. My training's going great, and nothing hurts, which is nice just three weeks out from my 60th birthday. Now if I can just get a little self control on the eating.

Click Here for Race Results

Click Here for Photos from Treasured Events of Charlotte

My Stats:

Time:  20:31

Pace:  6:37

Age Group:  1 of  15

Overall:  49 of 914

**************************************

* RACE RATING  (100 Possible Points) *

**************************************

Note: With my new rating system (started in December 2011) there's not a chance of any race scoring near 100. If it's important to you, look at each individual category to see how points were earned (or not). Just trying to be more objective with the details. I generally like all of the races I run. If there's something that really rubs me the wrong way I'll mention it in the summary above.

RACE COURSE  (20 possible points)

3 - Chip Timing: (3 points if yes)

0 - Starting Mat: (2 points if yes)

2 - Water Stops: (at least 1 for 5k, 2 for 10k, 4 for half marathon) (2 points)

1 - Course Marking:  (0)bad  (1)good

1 - Course Scenery:  (0)bad  (1)good

1 - Mile Markers: (0)poor or none  (1)normal  (2)with clocks or time called out

2 - Volunteers:  (0)too few  (2)good

2 - Finish line: (0)mediocre  (2)pretty good to excellent

2 - Certified Course: (0)no  (2) yes

2 - Correct Distance: (0)no  (2)yes

1 - Partly or fully on unpaved roads:  (0)yes  (1)no

REGISTRATION  (6 possible points)

3 - Cost:  (0)expensive  (1)reasonable  (3)cheap! ($25 on race day... cheap for Charlotte)

3 - Race Day Registration:  (0)no  (3)yes

RESULTS  (3 possible points)

2 - Posted promptly online:  (0)no  (2)yes

1 - Clear link on website:  (0)no  (1)yes

AGE GROUPS  (13 possible points)

2 - 3 deep awards: (2)yes (0 for anything less)

5 - 5-year age groups (5 points) (0 for anything less)

1 - 14 and under group (1)

1 - 65+ group (1)

1 - 70+ group (1)

1 - Top Overall M/F:  (0)none or first only  (1)top 3 or better

1 - Masters Category(40+): (0)no  (1)yes

0 - Grand Masters Category (50+):  (0)no  (1)yes

AWARDS  (9 possible points)

2 - Overall Winner Awards: (0)none  (1)yes  (2)excellent

1 - Age Group Awards: (0)none  (1)yes  (2)excellent

0 - Door Prizes or Drawing: (0)no  (2)yes

0 - Finisher Medals for All Finishers: (0)no  (1)yes  (3)really cool medals

POST RACE  (7 possible points)

4 - Food for Race Participants: (0)none  (1)some  (2)adequate  (5)a feast! (not quite a feast, but good)

1 - Entertainment:  (0)no  (1)yes

1 - Finisher times posted after race:  (0)no  (1)yes

REST ROOMS  (4 possible points)

2 - Porta Potties:  (0)no  (1)limited, long lines  (2)plentiful

2 - Indoor Restrooms: (0)no  (1)limited, long lines  (2)plentiful

T-SHIRTS  (8 possible points)

2 - T-Shirts: (0)no  (2)yes

1 - Design: (0)not good  (1)not bad  (2)nice

0 - Material: (0)cotton  (2)technical fabric

0 - Discount for no-shirt option:  (0)no (2)yes

PHOTOGRAPHY  (12 possible points)

5 - Professional Photography: (0)no  (5)yes

5 - Prices: (0)expensive  (2)reasonable  (5)cheap!

0 - Free Photographs (newspaper, etc.):  (0)no  (2)yes

PARKING  (8 possible points)

2 - Close to Start:  (2)yes  (0)no

2 - Close to Finish:  (2)yes  (0)no

2 - Plenty of spaces:  (2)yes  (0)no

2 - Free Parking:  (2)yes  (0)no

WEBSITE  (5 possible points)

2 - Dedicated race website (0)no  (2)yes

x - No dedicated site but separate page on other site (organization, running store, etc):  (0)no  (1)yes

2 - Results or link to results posted on website:  (0)no  (2)yes

OTHER  (5 possible points)

2 - Shelter from Inclement Weather (needed or not): (0)no  (2)yes

1 - Swag (free socks, water bottles, etc.): (0)no  (1)yes, some  (2)excellent

0 - Part of race series or Grand Prix:  (0)no  (1)yes

TOTAL:  79

Race #162 - Winter Flight 8k - Salisbury, NC - 02/04/12

This was one of those days that I could have just stayed in bed -- kind of cold and dreary, with just enough rain to make me miserable on a chilly February day. There was no sleeping in for me though. The Winter Flight is a special race, one of the winter's finest, and especially so this year with the race being a part of the Running Journal Grand Prix. I'm currently in 1st place in the 55-59 age group but will be switching age groups after the next GP race (Myrtle Beach Half Marathon) and won't be eligible for any more points in the 55-59 group after that, so I'm trying to make it hard for anybody to catch me. There was also a special appearance by former Olympian Joan Nesbit Mabe, who represented the US in 1992 and again in 1996. She just turned 50 and came out to try and break the state 8k record for the 50-54 age group, which she did.

I bundled up as usual, looking around at the starting line to see who else might be wearing gloves, a warm hat, and tights. I was the only one wearing all three, but that's just the way I roll. I've seldom been hot in a race and I really hate being cold so it works for me. I lined up with Butch Holt and William Walker, two of the fastest runners in the state in the 60-64 age group, where I'll be arriving by the end of the month. As the race started I went out ahead of both Butch and William, but I knew I'd see them again before the end of the race.

As the crowd thinned out over the first mile I noticed a runner near me. I didn't think anything of it at first but then it started to seem like he was matching me step-for-step. We kept going and he was with me at the first mile marker. We probably ran together within just a couple feet of each other for another half mile or so and I finally looked over at him and said, "Looks like we must have had the same thing for breakfast." He said, "We're Facebook friends -- I wanted to see if I could keep up with you today." As soon as he said that I realized who he was. He's a 38-year-old who I hadn't known before but he had recently sent me a friend request because he said he was impressed at how fast I was for my age. I was glad to meet a new friend, of course, and we ran together for probably another mile before he had to back off a little. Still he finished in 1st place in the 35-39 age group not very far behind me at the end.

Somewhere around the 3-mile mark, just as I suspected, here came William Walker with Butch Holt right behind him. Butch told me after the race that he planned to stay right in back of William the whole 5 miles, then beat him in a final sprint to the finish. His plan worked perfectly and Butch did end up finishing a couple seconds ahead of William. Fortunately for me, neither of them was overly concerned with me since I'm a few weeks away from their age group, so I managed to get back in front of them and finish less than a second ahead of Butch at the end. I didn't dare look back as we rounded the final turn on the track at Catawba College and headed towards the finish line. I figured looking back would not only slow me down, but there was nothing I could do about whatever was back there anyway, so I gave it all I had because I knew they were doing the same. In that final stretch my heart rate hit 178, which is the highest it's been in a long time, possibly over a year. I was exhausted, but it was kind of exhilerating too. I thought as we walked off the track that maybe running in the rain's not so bad after all.





Click Here for Race Results


My Stats:

Time:  34:06
Pace:  6:50
Age Group:  1 of 16
Overall:  26 of 272

**************************************
* RACE RATING  (100 Possible Points) *
**************************************

Note: With my new rating system (started in December 2011) there's not a chance of any race scoring near 100. If it's important to you, look at each individual category to see how points were earned (or not). Just trying to be more objective with the details. I generally like all of the races I run. If there's something that really rubs me the wrong way I'll mention it in the summary above.

RACE COURSE  (20 possible points)
0 - Chip Timing: (3 points if yes)
0 - Starting Mat: (2 points if yes)
2 - Water Stops: (at least 1 for 5k, 2 for 10k, 4 for half marathon) (2 points)
1 - Course Marking:  (0)bad  (1)good
1 - Course Scenery:  (0)bad  (1)good
2 - Mile Markers: (0)poor or none  (1)normal  (2)with clocks or time called out
2 - Volunteers:  (0)too few  (2)good
2 - Finish line: (0)mediocre  (2)pretty good to excellent
2 - Certified Course: (0)no  (2) yes
2 - Correct Distance: (0)no  (2)yes
1 - Partly or fully on unpaved roads:  (0)yes  (1)no

REGISTRATION  (6 possible points)
1 - Cost:  (0)expensive  (1)reasonable  (3)cheap!
3 - Race Day Registration:  (0)no  (3)yes

RESULTS  (3 possible points)
2 - Posted promptly online:  (0)no  (2)yes
1 - Clear link on website:  (0)no  (1)yes

AGE GROUPS  (13 possible points)
2 - 3 deep awards: (2)yes (0 for anything less)
5 - 5-year age groups (5 points) (0 for anything less)
1 - 14 and under group (1)
1 - 65+ group (1)
1 - 70+ group (1)
1 - Top Overall M/F:  (0)none or first only  (1)top 3 or better
1 - Masters Category(40+): (0)no  (1)yes
1 - Grand Masters Category (50+):  (0)no  (1)yes

AWARDS  (9 possible points)
2 - Overall Winner Awards: (0)none  (1)yes  (2)excellent
1 - Age Group Awards: (0)none  (1)yes  (2)excellent
0 - Door Prizes or Drawing: (0)no  (2)yes
0 - Finisher Medals for All Finishers: (0)no  (1)yes  (3)really cool medals

POST RACE  (7 possible points)
5 - Food for Race Participants: (0)none  (1)some  (2)adequate  (5)a feast!
1 - Entertainment:  (0)no  (1)yes
0 - Finisher times posted after race:  (0)no  (1)yes

REST ROOMS  (4 possible points)
0 - Porta Potties:  (0)no  (1)limited, long lines  (2)plentiful
2 - Indoor Restrooms: (0)no  (1)limited, long lines  (2)plentiful

T-SHIRTS  (8 possible points)
2 - T-Shirts: (0)no  (2)yes
1 - Design: (0)not good  (1)not bad  (2)nice
2 - Material: (0)cotton  (2)technical fabric
0 - Discount for no-shirt option:  (0)no (2)yes

PHOTOGRAPHY  (12 possible points)
0 - Professional Photography: (0)no  (5)yes
x - Prices: (0)expensive  (2)reasonable  (5)cheap!
2 - Free Photographs (newspaper, etc.):  (0)no  (2)yes (Some on Facebook)

PARKING  (8 possible points)
2 - Close to Start:  (2)yes  (0)no
2 - Close to Finish:  (2)yes  (0)no
2 - Plenty of spaces:  (2)yes  (0)no
2 - Free Parking:  (2)yes  (0)no

WEBSITE  (5 possible points)
0 - Dedicated race website (0)no  (2)yes
1 - No dedicated site but separate page on other site (organization, running store, etc):  (0)no  (1)yes
2 - Results or link to results posted on website:  (0)no  (2)yes

OTHER  (5 possible points)
2 - Shelter from Inclement Weather (needed or not): (0)no  (2)yes
0 - Swag (free socks, water bottles, etc.): (0)no  (1)yes, some  (2)excellent
1 - Part of race series or Grand Prix:  (0)no  (1)yes


TOTAL:  67